I discussed this problem before during what was at the time the worst and most corrupt Presidency in this country’s long and distinguished history of terrible Presidencies. But of course it’s back again. There was a whole presidential term in…
Mind The Gap: The Are No Actual Guardrails
The U.S. government was created by a bunch of comfortably-well-off dudes who never really thought it’d be controlled by people who seriously disagreed with them. That’s why it has no real blocks to serious abuses of power. Sure, they figured…
Identity Politics: They’re All Doing It
There’s been a lot of whinging about “identity politics” lately. From both major parties. The Democrats complain about how white, male, rural, evangelical christian the rhetoric of the Republicans is. Which is true, they do do that. And the Republicans…
Getting REAL: I Don’t Care About Showing ID To Vote
Honestly, I’m kinda in favor of the U.S. having a national ID card and of requiring it to vote and whatever else. Heck, even Costco has a membership card. There’s a better argument for requiring an ID to vote than…
Dueling Sovereigns: The Feds Are Arresting State Judges
Well, this wasn’t what I’d intended to write about today. Oh, well. You go to blog with the jackbooted fascist thuggery you have, not the reasoned discussion of political philosophy you want to have. You should read that linked article,…
Framing Religion: Freedom vs. Exemptions
I said yesterday that Jonathan Larsen, of “The Fucking News”, is a better writer than I am. And this is true. He can usually get at the core of an issue more elegantly than I ever could, and structure his…
Ukraine & Friends: We Have Some Issues Of Our Own To Work Through Right Now
It must be really frustrating to see the U.S. switching sides in the middle of a war for your country’s survival. I realize this doesn’t help, but it’s frustrating for us too. The best y’all can do now is to…
The Partial Veto: Wisconsin Hits The Bottom Of A Slippery Slope
The partial, or line-item, veto idea was one of those inexplicably popular fads that you see everywhere for a while then never hear about again till the nostalgia sets in and it gets another day in the sun. It’s come…
High Crimes And Misdemeanors: Everything He Does Is Illegal, So Is He Really President?
At what point, as you shut down all the legally-mandated parts of a State and replace them with illegal actions, does that State cease to be and a new one has arisen? It’s a political science version of the Ship…
No Appeal: When The Supreme Court Goes Bad
“The peace, the prosperity, and the very existence of the Union are vested in the hands of the justices of the Supreme Court.” -Alexis de Tocqueville Which was probably a mistake, but an understandable one. When the Constitution was written,…